An image emblazoned forever upon my generations' psyche (like it or not)! I remember a childhood friend who lived across the street from me talking about going back to see Saturday Night Fever (which I always got confused with "Saturday Night Live") again during the summer of 1978. So it was in the Galveston (Texas) theater for at least six months (the release was December 1977). That's practically unheard of today. And it was clearly part of the national zeitgeist even two years later when it was parodied (more like mocked) in the film Airplane! (1980).

4 comments:

Allison Jones Simmons
said...

In Dallas they piggy-backed it with Grease. My mom took the whole neighborhood of kids in the Pontiac Le Mans station wagon to see Grease and decided we'd just stay after the credits for SNF as she figured it was probably pretty similar. At the first questionable scene she yelled, "Everybody up!" I remember all of us walking backwards up that long aisle, soaking up every second of the soft glow of disco sex gleaming from the screen.

We then played SNF at home by turning off the lights in the unfurnished dining room, shining a flashlight at the cheapo chandelier, and spinning it. We got down, but that chandelier never fell. Your awesome posts always lead me down these random roads of recollection. Thank you.

I seem to remember Grease being around at the same time as well. Your anecdote is hilarious. I'm sure you were never the same after being exposed to "the soft glow of disco sex" (gleaming even!).

The same neighborhood friend I mentioned in the post had a father who owned a restaurant in Galveston. It had a little disco, complete with a floor which lit up, much like the one in the movie. And don't you know we "played" Saturday Night Fever a few times!

If I were to have said, "the soft glow of ELECTRIC sex, gleaming from the window," could you place the original, brilliant source?

On an unrelated note, Barry Gibb is on my laminated list of those I'm allowed to "enjoy" outside my marriage if ever given the opportunity. And the harder thing to believe is that I'm "only" 36. Maybe I ought to hurry this project along, Barry being somewhat elderly and all. But still, top of the list, baby, top of the list.